COMPREHENSIVE WEALTH REPORT Ethiopia

The report finds that Ethiopia's real comprehensive wealth per capita grew by 103% between 1992/93 and 2019/20, primarily driven by human capital. However, this trend reversed in 2018/19 and 2019/20. While produced and market natural capital grew, financial capital declined into negative territory by 2019/20 due to high foreign debt. Non-market natural capital indicators show declining land area per capita and rising temperatures, signaling growing environmental pressures.

• Ethiopia's real comprehensive wealth per capita grew by 103% from 1992/93 to 2019/20, with an average annual growth rate of 3%, increasing from ETB 102,853 to ETB 208,522.
• The overall growth trend of comprehensive wealth reversed in the final two years of the study, with declines in real per capita terms in 2018/19 and 2019/20.
• Human capital is the largest component of Ethiopia's wealth, representing 50% to 65% of the CWI, and was the primary driver of wealth expansion, growing at an average annual rate of 4%.
• Market natural capital is the second largest wealth component (20% to 36% of CWI), with agriculture and forestry together representing 97% of this index in 1992/93.
• Non-market natural capital is under pressure: land area per capita fell by more than half between 1992/93 and 2019/20, and temperature trends are upward.
• Produced capital grew at an average annual rate of 2.7%, concentrated in manufacturing, real estate, construction, and agriculture, though agricultural investment remains low and dominated by traditional technologies.
• Financial capital declined significantly, moving into negative territory in 2019/20 (ETB -122 per capita) due to the accumulation of foreign debt and foreign direct investment flows.
• Ethiopia has expanded its total forest land from 18.3% to 21.5% of the total land area, which the report identifies as a key step for carbon storage and ecosystem services.

APA

Tilahun, M., Zoundi, Z., Bizikova, L., & Smith, R. (2024). COMPREHENSIVE WEALTH REPORT Ethiopia. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2024-05/comprehensive-wealth-ethiopia.pdf

Chicago

Tilahun, Mesfin, Zakaria Zoundi, Livia Bizikova, and Robert Smith. COMPREHENSIVE WEALTH REPORT Ethiopia. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2024. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2024-05/comprehensive-wealth-ethiopia.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Tilahun |first1=Mesfin |last2=Zoundi |first2=Zakaria |last3=Bizikova |first3=Livia |last4=Smith |first4=Robert |title=COMPREHENSIVE WEALTH REPORT Ethiopia |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=April 2024 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2024-05/comprehensive-wealth-ethiopia.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{tilahun2024comprehensive, author = {Tilahun, Mesfin and Zoundi, Zakaria and Bizikova, Livia and Smith, Robert}, title = {{COMPREHENSIVE WEALTH REPORT Ethiopia}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2024}, month = apr, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2024-05/comprehensive-wealth-ethiopia.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }